Madelyn Creedon will become As NNSA principal deputy administrator.

Madelyn Creedon will become As NNSA principal deputy administrator. Sergey Ponomarev/AP

Senate Confirms Creedon for NNSA No. 2 Position

Creedon most recently served as assistant secretary of Defense for global strategic affairs.

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Madelyn Creedon to become the No. 2 official at the National Nuclear Security Administration.

As NNSA principal deputy administrator, Creedon will work directly under Energy Undersecretary for Nuclear Security Frank Klotz, according to an agency press release. She will assist in the management of the U.S. atomic weapons complex and work on Energy policy initiatives in support of the Obama administration's nuclear nonproliferation goals.

The National Nuclear Security Administration is a semi-autonomous branch of the Energy Department.

"Madelyn Creedon's confirmation comes at a critical point for the National Nuclear Security Administration," Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a statement. "She is well prepared for her new role at the department ... and I thank the Senate for their attention to Madelyn's nomination and, look forward to working with her."

Creedon was nominated in November.

She most recently served as assistant secretary of Defense for global strategic affairs. Creedon is also a former Senate Armed Services Committee staffer and a former NNSA deputy administrator for defense programs.

Creedon is rejoining the agency at a particularly busy time. NNSA officials are simultaneously working to modernize decades-old fissile material production facilities, settle on a plan for disposing of surplus Soviet-era plutonium, and overhaul aging nuclear warheads during a period of heightened congressional scrutiny andtightened federal spending.